Analysis and Optimization of a Synthetic Milkweed Floral Attractant for Mosquitoes

A pentane extract of flowers of common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca (Asclepiadaceae), elicited significant orientation from both male and female Culex pipiens in a dual-port flight olfactometer. Analysis of the extract by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry revealed six major constituents in order o...

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Veröffentlicht in:Journal of chemical ecology 2012-07, Vol.38 (7), p.873-881
Hauptverfasser: Otienoburu, Philip E., Ebrahimi, Babak, Phelan, P. Larry, Foster, Woodbridge A.
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:A pentane extract of flowers of common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca (Asclepiadaceae), elicited significant orientation from both male and female Culex pipiens in a dual-port flight olfactometer. Analysis of the extract by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry revealed six major constituents in order of relative abundance: benzaldehyde, ( E )-β-ocimene, phenylacetaldehyde, benzyl alcohol, nonanal, and ( E )-2-nonenal. Although not all were collected from the headspace profile of live flowers, a synthetic blend of these six compounds, when presented to mosquitoes in the same levels and proportions that occur in the extract, elicited a response comparable to the extract. Subtractive behavioral bioassays demonstrated that a three-component blend consisting of benzaldehyde, phenylacetaldehyde, and ( E )-2-nonenal was as attractive as the full blend. These findings suggest the potential use of synthetic floral-odor blends for monitoring or control of both male and female disease-vectoring mosquitoes.
ISSN:0098-0331
1573-1561
DOI:10.1007/s10886-012-0150-6